Third-year graduate film student Scott Veach, one of 10
finalists in this year’s Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmakers
competition, can finally relax, having submitted his short film on
Thursday.
This filmmaking competition isn’t all pop and fizz,
however. It’s an opportunity through which young filmmakers
can establish their careers and make a name for themselves. So
Veach didn’t take this project lightly.
“It was pretty much all-consuming,” Veach said.
“I’ve spent 50 hours a week on this project. No joke. I
basically had to drop out of school. But the school’s been
really understanding; it’s a big event.”
The competition, now in its sixth year, selects the 10 finalists
from the country’s top film schools to make a 50-second short
film capturing the joy of movies. UCLA has established itself as a
powerful contender each year, with student Peter Hunziker having
won in 2001. Veach entered the contest twice before, but this is
his first opportunity as a finalist.
Inspired by Tom Waits’ song “Grapefruit Moon,”
Veach’s submission is roughly as follows: a boy goes to the
movies to meet his girlfriend, but receives a message at the
theatre, saying she’s been grounded. Inspired by seeing
father and daughter stargazers on a roof, he and another man
project the film onto the moon with a telescope, so that the
girlfriend can enjoy the movie from her bedroom window in celestial
“Cinema Paradiso” fashion.
Veach shot on location at the old El Rey Theatre as well as on a
UCLA soundstage. He faced many challenges, from the casting process
to a $5,000 budget cap, but got by with a little help from his
friends: fellow third-year students Eli Kaufman and Aleem Hossain,
who were his producers and primary collaborators on the film, as
well as an all-UCLA crew.
“I knew almost all the crew on this project
beforehand,” said Veach. “The film department’s a
very close-knit community. We all help each other out, because
there’s always at least one big and highly involved project
going on.”
Also helping out was special effects house Ring of Fire, based
in West Hollywood. They are the visual effects team behind such
projects as Wayne Isham’s video for Ricky Martin’s
“Livin’ La Vida Loca,” as well as countless
commercial spots. Ring of Fire donated their services to Veach and
Coca-Cola, supervising the movie-on-the-moon shot as well as
others.
“This kind of post-production is sort of unusual for a
student film, but Ring of Fire has been incredible,” said
Veach. “For them, improving a shot could be just ten clicks
away. It’s amazing.”
Veach’s short film has taken two months from initial story
to final cut and must now wait until a judging panel of
celebrities, theater owners and Coca-Cola representatives make
their final selection. Starting next week, the general public can
view all 10 films and take part in the judging process by voting
for their favorite film through Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s
Project Greenlight Web site.
The winner will be formally awarded in early March at ShoWest,
an annual film industry convention, with a $10,000 prize as well as
the distribution of their short film to 19,000 screens nationwide
as part of Coca-Cola’s pre-show entertainment. In the
meantime, Veach and the other finalists will unwind at the Sundance
Film Festival, courtesy of Project Greenlight.
Veach hopes this will lead to more work in commercials and short
films, but win or lose, he’s delighted with his film and this
unique opportunity.
“Getting a movie done, at the quality we did, has been the
most exciting part about this,” he said. “Having a
movie come out as you envisioned in the initial storyboards is just
incredible.”
To view submissions in Coca-Cola’s Refreshing Filmmakers
contest, register at the Project Greenlight Web site:
http://projectgreenlight.liveplanet.com.